You would have to live in a cave to have not noticed the beautiful weather we have been having across the UK the last 3 or 4 days. The picnic blankets have come out, there have been walks in the park, gardening, cool cocktails in the evening sunshine and plenty of BBQ’s and the whole time I’ve been walking around with my own personal summer theme song playing in my head, except unlike the Mungo Jerry original, I have not had women on my mind, but instead, ice-cream!

I love all types of ice-cream, scoops in a bowl with fresh fruit, in a tall sundae glass covered in sauce, nuts, sprinkles and whipped cream, Ben and Jerry’s out of a tub, or soft my whippy in a cone with a flake...ALL types of ice-cream! I’m also quite partial to a sorbet or frozen yogurt too...but I’m sure there will be more of that as the summer continues.

As most of you know my exams are already over due to a horrible timetable that meant I had all of my exams in the first three days of my university’s exam period. As a result, I thought I’d return home for a week so as not to distract my friends still slogging it away over their textbooks and revision notes!

I’ve been fortunate enough to not only be able to sun myself in the garden all weekend, but I’ve also had access to my parents fridge/freezer and a couple of gadgets I couldn’t take to uni with me, like my ice-cream maker!

Despite being given a Kenwood ice-cream maker nearly 10 years ago by a family friend, I had not used it until this weekend! I bet you’re wondering why? Well...my Mum told me it was too big to fit in our little freezer (which is always RAMMED full of random foods...just the other day I found what looked like a pheasant, some scallops, as well as finger rolls, cocktail sausages and some Ben and Jerry’s – we clearly have a very varied diet.) I stupidly believed her, and every summer I’ve hinted at getting it out but every summer she’s come back with the reply “the freezer’s just too full.”

Well, this year I decided to not even bother consulting her...I must be getting brave in my old age! Jon and I hunted until we found it lurking in the back of our under stairs cupboard and began re-arranging the contents of our freezer. With 27 degree heat, in England, in May, we were going to make sure we had ice-cream!

Now, you don’t need an ice-cream maker to make ice-cream, it just makes it a little easier! But by all means feel free to swop the machine churning with hand stirring at various intervals once the mix has gone into the freezer. But don’t worry I’ll include hand mixing and machine mixing instructions in the recipe.

Enjoy...

Top tip #1: If you are using an ice-cream maker don't forget to put it in the freezer 24 hours before you intend to make the ice-cream - though do check your manufacturer's instructions, your tub may need to go in sooner or later!

Top tip #2: The ice-cream freezes VERY hard, so do leave it out to defrost for a minute or two before serving.

About Me

I’m an aspiring lawyer who considers it a crime not to cook and eat great food.
Since graduating from The University of Nottingham, and starting the LPC at BPP Law School in Holborn, London I am cooking up a storm back in my parents’ kitchen in between sampling the best food in and around London.